The Betting and Gaming Council (BGC) says there is no evidence of a link between advertising and gambling problems.

When asked at a meeting with the Culture, Media and Sports Committee whether there should be a ban on gambling advertising, BGC’s boss Michael Dugher said he would recommend this “if there was any evidence of a link”.

“And the Government, having reviewed all of the evidence, found no evidence,” he added.

The chief executive told the committee he was in favour of the “evidence-led” approach taken in the recently released gambling white paper.

Presented in April, the white paper introduced measures which tightened spending checks on vulnerable users and introduced a new ombudsman.

Dugher claimed the industry felt “very, very strongly” in favour of these changes.

A question on whether football teams banning gambling sponsors on kits was an admission it does harm was also asked at the meeting.

In response, Dugher replied: “They didn’t actually conclude that there was harm. They recognised that there was public concern about the scale and volume of branding around football and they responded to that.

He added, there are two schools of thought when approaching gambling.

“There are those who believe that gambling is like tobacco – something that is universally and intrinsically harmful to all.”

Dugher said he, instead, views gambling like alcohol, something the majority of people can do safely and responsibly but there are some which it can pose a “devastating” risk to.